CISA-DT

Lethbridge, Alberta Canada
Channels	Digital: 7 (VHF) Virtual: 7
Branding	Global Lethbridge
Programming
Affiliations	Global
Ownership
Owner	Corus Entertainment (Corus TelevisionLimited Partnership[1])
Sister stations	CICT-DT
History
First air date	November 20, 1955 (69 years ago) (1955-11-20)
Former call signs	CJLH-TV (1955–1972) CJOC-TV (1972–1976) CFAC-TV-7 (1977–1990) CISA-TV (1990–2011)
Former channel numbers	Analogue: 7 (VHF, 1955–2011)
Former affiliations	CBC (1955–1975) Independent (1975–2001) Global (secondary, 1988–2000)
Call sign meaning	Canadian Independent Southern Alberta
Technical information
Licensing authority	CRTC
ERP	19.7kW
HAAT	201.4 m (661 ft)
Transmitter coordinates	49°46′47″N112°52′18″W / 49.77972°N 112.87167°W /49.77972; -112.87167
Translator(s)	see§ Transmitters
Links
Website	Global Lethbridge

CISA-DT (channel 7) is atelevision station inLethbridge, Alberta, Canada,owned and operated by theGlobal Television Network, a division ofCorus Entertainment. The station maintains studios inside theRoyal Bank building at the corner of 7 Street South and 4 Avenue South indowntown Lethbridge, and its transmitter is located nearHighway 25 and Range Road 221, just outside the city.

The station carries the full Global network schedule, and its programming is similar tosister stationsCICT-DT inCalgary andCITV-DT inEdmonton. It is the smallest station in the Global network (formerly second to the defunct Shaw-owned affiliateCJBN-TV inKenora, Ontario) and is the only standalone commercial station inSouthern Alberta.

The station first signed on the air on November 20, 1955, as CJLH-TV, broadcasting on VHF channel 7 from a 167,000-watt transmitter atop a 638-foot (194 m) tower located at what was the city limits of Lethbridge. The station was a joint venture between local radio stationCJOC (the "CJ" in the call sign) and theLethbridge Herald (the "LH"). It was managed by CJOC's owners, Taylor Pearson & Carson, and began life as an affiliate of theCanadian Broadcasting Corporation's (CBC)television network. Network programs onkinescope arrived within a few days to a week after they went to air live inToronto,Montreal,Vancouver, or the U.S. networks. Three months after CJLH went to air, measurement services showed that the station had a potential audience of 9,400 homes, but within a year, that grew to 19,200, and of those, 16,000 had bought television sets. At the time, CJLH was the only station in the Lethbridge area.

Local programming at the time included local newscasts;Channel 7 Spotlight, showcasing area talent;Remember When, a series of programs hosted by Harry Baalim using slides, pictures and relics to tell the history ofSouthern Alberta; andHome Gardener, featuring many experts in the field demonstrating proper horticultural technique. These programs (along with several others) earned the station many awards, including seven awards fromLiberty magazine in the 1950s and 1960s.

In 1958, the timeshifting problems the station had with network programming were eliminated when it was able to get a direct microwave link to the CBC network via its Calgary time-delay centre. The problem still existed for live sports events, such asNHL hockey andCFL football telecasts. In 1961, CJLH expanded into theCrowsnest Pass area, by opening a repeater station atBurmis on channel 3. An application fromCFCN-TV in Calgary to open a repeater station in Lethbridge was unsuccessful in gettingCRTC approval that year.

However, a year later in 1968, an agreement was reached between CFCN and CJLH to share space on the CJLH tower and building for technical equipment. On September 3, CFCN went on the air with a repeater station on channel 13. That same year, the station's first 2-inch black and white videotape recorder was installed, and a repeater inBrooks began operations, transmitting at low power on VHF channel 3.

In 1970, program production was increased significantly when CJLH became a two-camera operation. Two years later, theHerald sold its stake in the station toSelkirk Communications (as Taylor Pearson & Carson had been renamed in 1959), who changed its call sign to CJOC-TV to match the radio station. It became a semi-satellite of co-owned CFAC-TV in Calgary (nowCICT-DT)^[2] and continued local production with shows such asTime Out,Ski Reports,Our Town,Sunday Hour,Thought for the Day,Focus on University,College Campus and numerous specials. In 1974, CJOC went fullcolour with two colour cameras and three colour 1" VTRs. CFCN moved out of the CJOC building and into its own during that same year.

On September 1, 1975, CFAC-TV disaffiliated from the CBC and became anindependent station when CBC Television put its own station,CBRT (channel 9), on the air. On the same day, CJOC also disaffiliated from the CBC^[3] as CBRT had set up a rebroadcaster in Lethbridge. In 1976, it changed its callsign to CFAC-TV-7. Despite its rebroadcaster-like callsign, it was still licensed as a full-fledged station. The station took on the same branding as CFAC-TV in Calgary, adopting the moniker "2&7 Lethbridge Television". In 1979, the station increased its transmitter power to 167,000 watts. In 1988, it added a satellite dish to get video news feeds fromGlobal Television, and also began carrying some of Global's entertainment programming along with its Calgary sister.

Local programming continued to play an important role at the station, with successful shows such asSki West, which was syndicated toCHCH-TV inHamilton,BCTV in Vancouver andCFCF-TV in Montreal, and was also judged bestsyndicated show in the country at the time;We Won't Let Him Die, which won the CanPro Founders award in 1983; andKids Belong Together (1990) andKey to Literacy (1992), both shows won theCanadian Association of Broadcasters Gold Ribbon Award for community involvement.

In 1989, Selkirk Communications merged with CFCN's then-owner,Maclean Hunter, who immediately sold most of Selkirk's television holdings, including CFAC-TV-7, toWestern International Communications. One year later, WIC changed the station's calls to CISA-TV. Through the years, CISA's commitment to local programming has continued to reap both industry awards, making it one of the country's most awarded stations, and audience numbers in its local area.

In 1998, the Griffiths family sold WIC's assets toShaw Communications andCanwest. In 1999, agreements were lodged with the CRTC to split WIC assets between Canwest,Corus Radio and Shaw. The CRTC approved the purchase in 2000; Western International Communications was sold to Canwest, and CISA-TV became a full-time Global Television Network station under the brand "Global Lethbridge" on September 4 that year. CISA was the last Global station to have its website integrated into thecanada.com network.

Since 1970, CISA's non-news schedule has been identical to that of CICT. Both stations air Global programming on the same schedule asCITV inEdmonton.

CISA-DT presently broadcasts7+1⁄2 hours of locally produced newscasts during the week; in regards to the number of hours devoted to news programming, it is the lowest local newscast output out of Global's news-producing owned-and-operated stations. On September 10, 2008, news production for CISA shifted from Lethbridge to Calgary, with the addition of a new virtual set. In 2015, a new local news production model was launched at CISA, eliminating locally produced weekend newscasts.

• Jackson Proskow

On July 27, 2011, one month before Canadian television stations in CRTC-designated mandatorymarketstransitioned from analogue to digital broadcasts, the station shut down its Lethbridge analog transmitter andflash cut to digital, becoming the first television station in Southern Alberta to convert to digital. The station's digital signal remained onVHF channel 7.^[5][6]

The following translators will continue to offer the analog signal after CISA's main Lethbridge transmitter is converted to digital.

CISA-DT has one translator inMontana, which is operated by a local TV association.

• Global Lethbridge
• CISA-DT at The History of Canadian Broadcasting by theCanadian Communications Foundation
• Query RabbitEars' station database for CISA
• Query RabbitEars' station database for K36DK

• 1955 establishments in Alberta
• Corus Entertainment
• Global Television Network stations
• Mass media in Lethbridge
• Television channels and stations established in 1955
• Television stations in Alberta

• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Use mdy dates from May 2024
• Pages using gadget WikiMiniAtlas
• Articles using infobox television station